Quick Tips

Starting Your Own Business: 10 Tips to Help You Get Going

In her book Birthing the Elephant: The Woman’s Go-For-It! Guide to Launching a New Business,Karin Abarbanel writes about how starting your company is akin to having another child. "Most people focus on the three Ms when they think of starting a business: money, marketing, and management," she writes. "But there’s a fourth M -- motivation -- and it’s at the heart of small-business survival." Here are a few more tips from other Work It, Mom! members who, like Karin, are balancing entrepreneurship and parenthood:

Find out about your competition.What other businesses are out there and how will you compete with them? Once you know what you're up against, you'll be able to figure out what you really have to offer.

Talk to other people about what you want to do. In other words: network, network, network. If you're reading this, you're already in the right place -- Work It, Mom! is a great resource for working moms who want to start their own businesses. Your network doesn't have to be made up of just business professionals, either. Look through your contacts on other social media outlets like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn and see who you already know who might be able to help you.